Railway hopper car



Patented Apr. 23, 1935 UNITED STAT -s PATENT, OFFICE 11, 1933. Divided and this application'June 13, 1933, Serial No."675,607 i My invention relates to railway hopper cars and more particularly'to door frames for the hoppers of such cars, and the present application isa division of my co-pending application, filed February 12, 1929, bearing Serial Number 339,348, now Patent No. 1,917,785 ofJuly 11, 1 933.

A principal object of the" invention is to provide a door frame which may be easily and-rigidly applied to hopper cars now in'use. Another. object of the invention is to-provide' a strong and rugged door frame. 1 r r A primary feature of the invention consists'in providing a railway car hopper with arigid door frame which is so arranged that oneside thereof may be secured directly to theicenter sill of the car and that the other side may be connected to adjacent portions of the car structure by means extending upwardly above the top of the frame.

-Another feature of the invention consists in providing the door .frame with improved means for rigidifyingthe upper portion thereof. 7

Other features of the invention residing in advantageous forms, combinations and relations of parts will hereinafter appear and be pointed out'in the claims; In the drawing illustrating a preferred embodiment of the invention, Figure l is a transverse sectional view of the lower portion of substantially one-half of a railway hopper car, the hopper door and door frame being in elevation.

Figure-2 is afragmentary side elevational view of the construction illustrated in Figure 1. I

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail front elevation view of one of the upper corners of the door frame. Figure 4 is a side elevation view of the construction illustrated in Figure 3. I r I Figure 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5, Figure 3. i e e Figure 6 is a diagrammatic view taken transversely of the car illustrating the arran'gement'of sill. Referring more particularly to the drawing, l indicatesone of the beam members of the center sill of'the car. This beam member is preferably of channel form, having aweb 2 and inwardly projecting flanges 3. 4 indicates one of the side sills of the car which may be conveniently 'of angle shape, having an inwardly projecting'flange 6 and an upwardly projecting flange 5 to which theside'sheets 1 of the car are'secured. w The hopper of the car illustrated in the drawing is formed byan inclined slope sheet '8 and inner and outer side sheets 9 and llh'respectively.

the hoppers on opposite sides of the car center The side sheets converge downwardly and each is provided along itslower edge with an inwardly projecting flange H which underlies and is secured to the slope sheet 8; The inner side sheet 9 is disposed adjacent the center sill I and terminates at its upper edge in a substantially vertical flange 12 which is secured to the center sill by rivets [3. The outer side sheet I0 extends upwardly a greater distance than the inner side sheet and like the inner side sheetit terminates in a substantially vertical flange l4 which is secured to the car side sheets I by rivets l5. In order that the outer 'side sheetmay be secured to the car side sheets 1 0105913 adjacent the side sill, it is preferably bent outwardly as indicated at It.

.Thecar is provided with an inclined floorplate I1, the'lower edge of which together withthe marginal edges of the side and slope sheets of the hopper'define an opening with which the door frame, to be hereinafter described, is associated. Above the opening the side-sheets of the hopper are formed with inwardly extending flanges [8 which are disposed beneath and are secured to the floor plate H by rivets' IS. The upper outer corner of the openingmay beadv'antageously reinforced by an angularly shaped member 20-which is rigidly secured to the" outer side sheet 10 of the hopper and to the floor plate l1. If desired, the floor plate maybe rigidified by an angle memberZl. Associated with;the hopper opening is a door frame 22 of substantiallytrapezoidal formwhich is preferably-cast as an integral unit. In order that the framemay bemounted'on either side of the car center sill, it is preferably symmetrical about'its vertical axis. Some of the structural detailsIof-the frame will,' therefore, be without functionwhen the frame is disposed on one side of the center sill, but when the frame is mounted on the other side of the center sill those details will perform their intended functions.

The frame is so proportioned and so associated with the hopper that its upper edge is disposed below the side sill and intermediate the upper and lower edges of the center sill. By arranging theframe in thismanner it may be connected to the center sill 'directlyand to the side structure of the car'by the outer side sheet of the hopper. "This manner of connecting the door frame to the center sill and side structure'of the car is particularly desirable in applying the frame to' old cars because due to the severe service to which rail road cars are subjected, considerable variations occur in the distances between corresponding parts of the center and side sills after the cars have been in service only a comparatively short time. By securing the frame to the side structure of the car by the outer side sheet of the hopper, these variations may be compensated for by bending the side sheet, which is relatively flexible, either outwardly or inwardly.

The sides of the frame are preferably provided with rearwardly extending flanges 23 for attachment by rivets 24 to the side sheets of the hopper and the lower portion of the frame is preferably formed with a rearwardly extending part 25 for attachment by rivets 26 to the slope sheet 8. At its upper portion the frame may be conveniently formed with an outwardly inclined portion 21 which terminates in a forwardly projecting reinforcing flange 28. The portion 21 is intended to be disposed in a plane substantially parallel with that of the floor plate I! and affords means by which the frame may be riveted to the latter. Adjacent its ends the inclined portion 2'! is recessed as at 29 to receive adjacent portions of the flanges I8 of the hopper side sheets. In order that the frame may be rigidly secured to the center sill, the upper'portions of the side flanges 23 thereof are respectively provided with outwardly projecting portions 30 forming pads or the like. These portions have substantially vertical outer faces and each is apertured to receive a rivet 3|.

The frame is formed with a lading discharge opening 32 of substantially rectangular shape, thus providing the frame on opposite sides of the opening with substantially triangular downwardly tapering portions 33 which serve to materially increase the rigidity of the frame. To reinforce the lower portion of the frame it may advantageously be provided, with a flange 34 which passes under the door opening and extends upwardly for limited distances on opposite sides of the frame as indicated at 35. At its upper corners the frame may be additionally rigidifled by substantially vertical flanges 36 which extend downwardly from adjacent the ends of the top flange 28 and merge into the triangular portions 33. Outwardly of the flanges-36 the top portions of'the frame incline outwardly and downwardly as at 31 intersecting the sides of the frame at substantially right angles and at these points of intersection the frame may bereinforced by angular flanges38.

Pivotally associated with the frame for closing the lading discharge opening thereof is a door 40. This door (which forms no part of the present invention but is described and claimed in detail in my co-pending application Serial Number 339,348, filed February 12, 1929, of which this application is a division) is preferably cast as a unitary structure and is provided with inwardly projecting flanges M for cooperating with outwardly projectingflanges 42 which are formed integrally with the door frame and border the opening thereof. The door may be conveniently provided with upwardlyprojecting lugs 43 adapted to be respectively interposed between pairs of lugs 44 which are formed integrally with the door frame. The lugs on the door are provided with apertures adapted to register with alignedopenings in the lugs 44 for receiving hinge pins 45. Any suitable mechanism may be employed forsupporting the door in closed position such as, for example, the type embodying a pivot hook 46.

From'the foregoing it will be appreciated that a strong and rugged door frame is provided which may be easily and quickly applied to both old and new railroad cars;

I claim:

1. In a railway car, the combination with a hopper involving side sheets and an inclined floor sheet, of a unitary door frame secured to said sheets, said frame being of substantially trapezoidal shape and having a substantially rectangular lading discharge opening, the upper portion of said door frame being provided with an outwardly projecting flange and said frame being also provided inwardly of the sides thereof with substantially vertical reinforcing flanges respectively connected to said outwardly projecting flange.

2. In a railway car, the combination with a hopper involvingside sheets and an inclined floor sheet, of an integral door frame having a lading discharge opening and provided with flanges secured to the side sheets of the hopper, said flanges being spaced from the sides of the lading discharge opening and the portions of the frame intermediate said flanges and the respectively adjacent edges of said opening being of substantially triangular shape, the upper portion of saidframe being provided with an outwardly projecting flange and with substantially vertical flanges respectively connecting said outwardly projecting flange and said triangularly shaped portions.

3. In a railway car, the combination with a hopper having side sheets and an inclined floor sheet, of an integral door frame having a lading discharge opening and provided with downwardly converging portions respectivelysecured to the hopper side sheets, said frame having an outwardly projecting flange substantially parallel with and spaced above the upper edge of the lading discharge opening for rigidifying the upper portion of the frame, and substantially vertical flanges formed integrally with said outwardly projecting flange adjacent the ends of the latter and extending downwardly therefrom inwardly of the said converging portions of the frame.

4. In a railway car, the combination with a hopper having side sheets and an inclined floor sheet, of an integral door frame having a lading discharge opening and provided with downwardly converging portions respectively secured to the hopper side sheets, said frame being formed with outwardly projecting sealing flanges adjacent the sides of the lading discharge opening adapted to cooperate with the door for closing the opening, the upper portion of said frame being provided with an outwardly projecting flange spaced above the upper edge of the lading discharge opening and extending substantially parallel therewith, and substantially vertical flanges formed integrally with said outwardly projecting flange and extending downwardly therefrom adjacent the ends thereof, each of said vertical flanges being disposed intermediate the adjacent sealing flange and the adjacent side sheet attaching portion of the frame.

5. In a railway car, the combination with a hopper having side sheets and an inclined floor sheet, of an integral door frame having a lading discharge opening and provided with downwardly converging side portions respectively secured to said side sheets and with a bottom portion secured to said floor sheet, portions of the frame adjacent the upper corners thereof being respectively provided with outwardly projecting reinforcing flanges, each of said flanges being substantially normal to the adjacent side sheet attaching portion of the frame.

6. In a railway car, the combination with a hopper having side sheets and an inclined floor sheet, of an integral door frame having a lading discharge opening, said frame including downwardly converging portions respectively secured v to the hopper side sheets, a reinforcing flange extending along the upper portion of the frame and terminating inwardly of the side edges thereof, substantially vertical flanges respectively disposed adjacent the ends of. said reinforcing flange and extending downwardly therefrom inwardly of the side edges of the frame, the upper corners of said frame being provided with outwardly projecting flanges respectively extending from said vertical flanges to the adjacent sides of the frame, said last-named flanges being substantially normal to said downwardly converging portions of the frame.

WILLIAM E. WINE. 

